Improvement in mode of operating weather-strips



UNTTEE STATES PATENT OEETCE..

JAMES B. GRAY, OF HUDSON, VISGONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN MODE OF OPERATING WEATHER-STRIPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent'No. 37,749, dated February 24, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMES B. GRAY, of Hudson, in the county of St. Croix, in the State of Wisconsin, have inventeda new and useful apparatus for operating weather-stri ps, to pre- Vent water from running under the doors ot' and into houses; and l do hereby declare that the following1 is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction a-nd operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification.

The weather-strips referred to consist of two strips or plates of iron, brass, or other metal-sometimes perhaps ofwood-ot'a thickness of from one-sixteenth to onefonrth of an inch, and of a width of from onehalf to three inches, and of a length equal tov the distance between the jambs of the doorway in which they are to operate, of which strips one, the upper or door strip, (marked c in the several figures of said drawin gs,hereinafter explaineth) is fastened, as in said drawings shown, to the door b, on the outside, by screws, near the upper edge of the strip, and just below the line of the fastening is bent along its whole length, to project out from t-he plane of the door and downward, at an angle which will shed water freely, the lower or projecting` edge coming down about to the level of and parallel with the bottom line of the door. rJhe other, that is, the lower or sill strip, (marked c in said drawings,)is attached, as therein shown, to the door-sill d, by small staples, as shown at e, one prong of which enters the sill through a hole in the strip, and the other prong enters the sill just outside of the strip, the staple and the hole through the strip being so adjusted as to admit of the strips turning freely on the axis of its outer edge, at which it is so attached to the sill, the strip so attached lying, when the door is open,iat on the sill, at'a place which, when the other or inner edge of the strip is turned upward by the operation of said, apparatus, will admit of that edge meeting and being overlapped by the projecting edge of the upper or door strip, the door being closed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l shows in perspective the lower portion of an ordinary outside door and doorway, presenting to view (from the outside) that side ofthe door to which the handle or latch is attached,

and the jamb which that side of the door meets in closing, and the portion of the doorsill being on the same side with that jamb and outside ofthe perpendicular plane of the closed door. In that figure the door b is represented as open, and having such upper erdoorstrip, a, fastened to it with screws (as atf) in the manner above described. rlhe lower or sill strip, c, is shown lying flat on the sill d, and attached thereto by staples (as at c) in the manner above described. 'lhe eccentric g is a circular plate, but may be of otherdifferent sh apes, ofbrass, copper, or other metal, and may be made ofother substances, as wood, of sufficient thickness tov prevent its being bent by the action of the door closing against it, and is hung to the jamb hon a pivot, as at i, on which it turns freely, the plane surfaces ofthe eccentric and the jamb being parallel. rlhe eccentric is so hung far enough above t-he sill so that it will not be in the way of the lower strip turning up, and may be hung at any higher alitnde on the jamb, and must be hung so that a segment of it will, (as shown in Fig. 1,) when the door is open, project' in,- doorward beyond that part ofthe jamb against which the ,door strikes in closing. rlhe ec centric is connected with the loweror sill strip by the wire k, looped or fastened into the bottom of the eccentric, as at I, and into the end of said strip, as at m., and is so fastened to the strip at a sufficient distance from its inner or doorward edge, at least so as not to interfere with the lapping sut'iiciently ot' the upper strip onto the lower when the door is closed. The projection, vas aforesaithof a segment of the eccentric must be such that, (given the point on the eccentric to which one end, and given the point on the sill-strip to which the other end, ot' the wire is attach ed,) when the farthest point of projection is pushed down tlusli with the part ofthe jamb against which the door strikes, the point at which the wire is attached to the eccentric will be carried far enough to turn up by means of the connecting-wire, the sill-strip (turning on the axis of its outer edge) far enough for it to meet the door or upper strip on its under side as the door closes. The eccentric may varyin size 5 for practical purposes, may have its longest radius from one to four inches in length. Between the eccentric and the wood-work or other material of the jamb is a thin metal plate, n, intended to serve the purpose of a washer, to protect the material ot' the jainb from the abrasion result-ing from the motion of the eccentric. This washer, of course, is not essential to the working ot' the eccentric, but extending the washer so that it will reach above and below the eccentric, as shown in the figure, and having the washer pierced for a screw wherewith to screw it onto the jamb, as shown at 0, the hole so pierced being elongated, so that after the washer is screwed to the janib it may be loosened by -a turn of the screws, so as to admit of the washer sliding, and thus regulating the projection (above referred to) of the eccentric. The eccentric in such case being pivoted onto the washer only, we have ay valuable adjunct to the other machinery. The guard Pis a thin plate of metal fastened onto the door at the point where in closing it would strike the eccentric, andis so fastened to the door to prevent the abrasion or indentation ofthe door by its action against tl e eccentric. When the door!) is being closed, it strikes against the eccentric g at the point of its farthest projection, as aforesaid, causing the eccentric to turn from the door on the pivot t until that point is brought down iiush with that part of thejainb h against which the door strikes in closing, and thus the pointl, to which the wire 7c is attached on the eccentric, moves in the direction opposite. the door and upward, so as, by means of the wire, to turn the sillstnip c on the axis of its outer edge (which edge is held close to the sill d by the staples e) until the other or indoorward edge of that strip meets the other or door-strip at its under side, as the door is closed,the upper strip lap- 1 ing over the under one, and in this position the strips reniain while the dooris closed, and in this position the strips are shown in Fig. 2, which is a perspective view of a door closed, showing the same parts of a door and doorway, door sill and jainb, and all the above-nientioned appliances and apparatus attached thereto, which are shown in Fig. 1, the saine letters showing the saine parts, pieces, and things in all the igures ofthe drawings. Fig. 2 shows also the position of the eccentric g and the wire lc when the door is closed. NVhen the door is opened, thus removing the pressure thereof' from the eccentric, the latter falls back, projecting again, as shown in Fig. l, beyond that part ofthe jainb against which the door strikes in closing, and the sillstrip falls dat on the sill.

ln Fig. 3 the hinge side of a door, doorway, sill, and jarnb is shown in perspective, with the strips, upper and lower, attached as above described, the door being represented as open, and the eccentric g, wire k, and washer n and guard p'being shown as attached on that side in the saine manner and occupying the same relative positions and performing the saine otces or serving the same purposes, as shown in Fig. l and above described, as to the other side, except that in Fig. 3 the eccentric is shown as of a semicircular or crescent shape,

and the wire is attached to the eccentric at a point which will have the farthest perpendicular inotion when the partof the eccentric which projects beyond that`part of the jamb against which the door closes is pressed down flush with the edge ot` that part of the jainb as the door closes. rl`he wire, being attached to that point of the eccentric, might, if the latter were circular, interfere with it in its motion upward; also, the eccentric, when attached to that side of the jamb-that is to say, to thejarnb on the hinge side of the doorwayshould be beveled on the edge against which the door strikes, on the side toward the jamb, so as to slide more easily or with less friction against the guard or the door when the latter is closing, and would be advantageously made with that edge considerably thicker than is necessary for an eccentric on the other jamb, so that it may collide with the door at a point as far as practicable from the hinge side, as increasing the distance between that point of collision and the hinge side of the door increases the motion of the eccentric. The sill-strip is raised or turned on the axis of its outer edge in the saine manner by the pressure of the door (in closing) against the eccentric when the same is on the hinge-jainb as by the eccentric on the other jainb, as above described, the sillstrip mcetin g in the manner hereinbefore described the door-strip at its under side, and being overlapped by it, as shown in Fig. 4, which is a perspective view of the same portions of a door, doorway, door-sill, and jamb, and of all the apparatus and appliances thereto above mentioned, as is shown in Fig. 3, but showing the door closed and the lower strip raised to'ineet the upper strip, as aforesaid, which laps over the lower one, and showing the eccentric turned and pushed out by the striking ot' the door against it, so that the point which, when the door is open, projects farthest in the manner and direction aforesaid is, with the door shut, iush with that part of the jamb against which the door close-s, and showing the point on the eccentric at which the wire is attached so elevated as, by means of the wire connection, to turn up suficiently the sill-strip. This wire should be firm and stiff enough so that when the door being open the sill-strip falls dat on the sill, as shown in Fig. 3, the wire will support that part of the eccentric to which it is attached, and thus keep the eccentric properly projected, as in Fig. 3. The eccentric applied and adjusted so, as aforesaid, for operation on the hinge-jainb only, or for operation on the opposite jamb only, as shown in the former case in Fig. 3, and in the latter case in Fig. l, will, in either case, accomplish its ofce and purpose of bringing up the lower strip to nieet the upper one, as aforesaid, without the aid of the other apparatus on the other janib, but With each apparatus working on its appropriate side the lower strip will be less liable to sag in time at one end, as it might by use at the end next to the jainb having no apparatus attached; and the apparatus can be used and adjusted only on the hinge side and jamb in the oase of double doors opening in the middle and swinging back each way.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of the eccentric g, Whether used on one or the other or both jambs of the doorway, with the strips c and a, by

means of the rod or wire k, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The Washer n, in Combination with the eccentric g, made7 constructed, and used as and for the purposes herein set forth.

Witnesses: JAMES B. GRAY.

JOHN GRAY, l THOMAS SCOTT ANSLEY. 

